Easily Repaired
by Icicle Streams
Summary: Another boring day at the Item Check... until Peatrice overhears Groose tell of his adventures on the surface and the truth of her beloved hero in green. Oneshot.


Another boring day. Every day without _him_ was boring, and the last few days had gone by without any appearance of her beloved. Oh, where could he be?

The last time she had seen him was when he came by her house at night a few days ago. Panic had taken over her as he waved at her father who, much to her surprise, seemed happy to see the youth. She couldn't imagine why he had come to see her so late at night. Perhaps he was coming to ask her to elope with him! So imagine her dejection when he mumbled, 'Deposit items,' which prompted her to cry '_Well, if that's all you wanted, couldn't you have just come to visit me at the Item Check during the day? Or are you trying to tell me that that's all I am to you?_' At his shocked and confused expression, she quickly apologised. How could she stay mad at her gorgeous knight? He smiled sweetly, just for her, as he left that night. The next morning, he arrived early at the Bazaar, handing her his precious Treasure and Heart medals, and without saying much at all, asked to withdrew a Life Medal with a bottle instead. His expression was so serious; she didn't dare say a word besides a quiet 'Goodbye, Darling.' She saw him stocking up on arrows and bombs at the Gear Shop before talking to Bertie and Luv.

_That was the last time I saw him_, she thought sadly.

"Groose, my boy! Why, no-one's seen you in weeks!" cried Croo excitedly at the cafe as Groose and Cawlin came through the curtained entrance. Without her beloved to distract her, she dispassionately watched the boring exchange

"It _has_ been a while since I've been around," he admitted sheepishly, running a hand through his hair. "But I haven't been doing nothing, ya know. I've been doing real important stuff!"

At the exciting 'I' word, the old man's eyes lit up and he gestured for Groose to sit.

"Looks like you're on the road to success. Let me buy you a drink, and you can tell me all about it! When my grandson, he's a knight you know, when he told me that you weren't at the academy these past few weeks, well I knew you must have your hands tied with something _important_," explained Croo knowingly.

Peatrice couldn't help regarding this with some scepticism. If she recalled correctly, she had heard him ranting to the knights about how much trouble his disappearance was causing, the scallywag.

Said redhead grinned while Cawlin hastily pulled out the stool for him. Even sitting, Groose was far taller than him.

"Well, it's a long story... but maybe I can give you a shortened version. Here is what I like to call '_The Legend of Groose!_'" he began extravagantly.

Over at the Item Check, Peatrice rolled her eyes and immediately lost interest. She began to occupy herself with dusting off her beloved's precious possessions instead. She even pulled out her precious store of Deku Hornet Wax, a family heirloom from decades ago, to polish his medals. Perhaps when he saw how they shone, his face would also light up as brightly as these mystic medallions. How she longed to see his kind face...

"... And Link, being the clumsy little guy he is, he couldn't pull of a clean landing!"

_Link?_

Her ears immediately perked up at the sound of his name.

"And there we were. On the _Surface_..." he trailed off, pausing for effect.

"No!" gasped Croo in surprise, clapping his hands together.

"Yes! Trees, land, as far as the eye could see! And there were these _tiny _little birds... small enough to fit in your hand!" he breathed in, cupping his hands earnestly. "And there was this huge temple, even older than... than the Statue of the Goddess! And inside... a mystic old granny, who foretold both of our destinies, and the important role I would have to play in all of this. Link was absolutely speechless, of course. All of this was probably too much to take in for that little brain of his. But aside from being clumsy, he's really something," he added kindly. "Between the two of us, we floored this ancient monster! If I described it to you, you'd die of shock! It was..."

Peatrice's head was spinning with thoughts of _him_, while Groose elaborated on his story. So her beloved had been going to the _Surface_? She knew he was on an important mission... but the _Surface_? The Surface... No wonder he had to visit the Item Check so often...

"... That huge monster? Between the two of us: we simply floored it. If I described it to you, you'd die of shock! Dark scales, and all these stubby claw-things everywhere..."

Has her beloved really face so many perils far from her? Why hadn't he confided in her, let her bandage his wounds...not that there would be many; no monster could best _her_ hero.

"... And so then Link owned that Ghirahim guy, and Zelda fell from the sky! Luckily, with my superhuman reflexes and muscular strength, I was able to catch her in time."

_Zelda_? Her beloved, Link, he was so noble! Going to all this effort to save this girl, even when his feelings are for another! Peatrice couldn't help but feel somewhat anxious on what Zelda's reaction would be when they returned to Skyloft; she was known to be a rather fiery individual.

"... as she faded away. We all felt sad at having to say goodbye, but I... I knew her. She... Granny was ready to move on."

"So where are Link and Zelda now?" asked Croo eagerly, interrupting Groose's sentimental moment about this strange woman. The redhead scowled at having his musings be disregarded like that.

"Didn't I tell you?" he exclaimed incredulously.

"They chose to stay on the Surface!"

The Heart Medal dropped from Peatrice's slack fingers. Hitting the hard stone floor, it cracked clean in half down the middle.

_He's left..?_

_W-with..._

She gulped to fight back tears.

"With _her_?" she whispered.

_Why would he lie to her like that? This whole time... If he had just told her straight... but it was the pretence that she couldn't handle... she had given him so many occasions to back away from his words-_

"The Surface? Stay? _There?_" exclaimed Croo at the cafe, jumping to his feet.

_The bastard..._

No wonder he looked so anguished when she told him her plans to save telling her father when he returned. To think, she had perceived it as his own eagerness, being so struck with love that he couldn't bear waiting. She should have known.

...Just like her to be so foolish.

She sank to her knees and picked up the broken pieces of the medal. Along the crack line, it was a perfect cut. It would be easily repaired...

Groose snorted.

"I don't think they ever plan on coming back..."

And with that Peatrice shrieked and crushed the fragile medal into a million pieces.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Beta-read by the coolness which is Silvara. Wrote this a while ago while on a Zelda binge. Gotta love a hero in green. You know the drill; constructive criticism is welcome :)<strong>_


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